Sound Absorption Properties of Materials Based on Recycled Plastic Granule Mixtures

This article reports on impedance tube measurements of the sound absorption coefficient α (-) of selected recycled foam plastics, i.e., ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene (PS), and polypropylene (PP), in different mixtures with a binding adhesive. The effect of the thickness of the sample on the sound absorption spectrum as well as the variability in absorption across the different samples of the same composition and thickness are discussed. For the EVA/ PP and PS/PP mixtures, the spectrum is characterized by two peaks that shift as the thickness is changing. These mixtures were also found to be the most absorbent across the whole audible frequency range.